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Monday, November 14, 2016

100 Marketing Tips

NOTE: Since this post is the longest one I've ever done and packed with the most information I've ever shared, I made a downloadable PDF. All you have to do is download it by clicking the link. Then save it to your computer for later use.

I am not a marketing guru or pro.
I’ve done a lot of research on what I can do to promote my books, and I give
them a try. Although I give a lot of advice on my blog about how to market
books, I struggle with this part of publishing. There are no right answers. All
you can do is try and see what works for you.

Below are 100 marketing options you
can try. I’ve tried many of them and know they are useful. The things I’ve
tried that didn’t work for me have worked wonders for other authors. You just
never know until you give it a shot.

Lure people to sign up for your
email list/newsletter with an incentive, such as a free book or gift. Then
create good, interesting content that they will find useful. When the time is
right, promote one of your books. Put a note in your books/eBooks (beginning
and end if possible) asking your readers to sign up for your newsletter.

A street team helps you get the
word out about your books. And they want to do it! So why not set one up? You
can give them a special badge (image) to put on their blog/website, and create
a Facebook group for everyone to go to and chat. Also, give it a cool name!

7.Make business cards and give them to everyone
you talk to about your books. You can even leave them places.

8.Look for award opportunities. Do some research
on yearly book awards and check the guidelines to see if your book(s) qualify.
If you don’t win an award, no harm, no foul. (Most do ask for a fee, though.)

REVIEWS:

9.Approach reviewers.

There are many book bloggers out
there, use the Internet to find them.

You can put a polite note at the
end of your book/eBook asking your readers to post an honest review of the
story they just read on Amazon.

11.When you get reviews on your books, pick the
best ones by authors and professional book reviewers. Search those reviews for
a sentence or two that you can add to the Editorial Reviews section of your
book’s Amazon page.

12.Give Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) to anyone
interested in reviewing your story before its release day.

13.Also look for snippets of reviews to put on a
“Testimonial” page on your website. This is good because it shows that you have
cred. You can have testimonials for specific books, for your overall writing,
or even your blog. I have one on my website.

14.Mail galley copies to major magazines for
review. Most need these copies 3 - 4 months in advance of the release date.

15.Approach local book clubs/reading groups and
see if they’d be interested in reading your book. Most do buy the books they
want to read. This will result in quite a few reviews.

16.When you post a review start it (or sign off)
with “[Your name] Author of XYZ.”

Amazon:

17.Narrow down your book’s categories on Amazon.

Instead of paranormal, think
paranormal detective mystery. Use Amazon’s search bar to find popular searches
for your book’s genre. Click on it and check out the number of books under that
category. You can find this in the top left-hand corner. The smaller this
number is the better. Think 1,000 or less. Under 500 is awesome because it’s
less competition. Use these categories when you pick the categories for your
books.

18.You can also put a list of categories in the
“Product Description” under the blurb, and pick one to include in the title.
Example:Ghost of Death– A Paranormal Detective Mystery. Try
to get that on the cover, too, if possible.

19.Add author interview questions to the From the
Author section on your book’s page on Amazon.

Goodreads:

20.Join Goodreads Groups. There are many groups
for many different genres. Follow the rules set out for authors in each genre
before you post about your books.

21. Use
Goodreads groups to get reviews. Many groups have discussions to help authors
get reviewers. You will need to provide the necessary info and interested
people will email you asking for a copy. Make sure to specify a timeframe.

22.Do a Goodreads Event whenever a new book comes
out and invite EVERYONE.

23.Connect with other authors on Goodreads.

Website:

24.Add all of your books to your website/blog. You
can do this on the sidebar and/or create a page. And make them clickable, so
visitors can buy that book!

25.Use your website/blog to make announcements,
and then send people there using social media to get that announcement.

39.Interview authors on your blog. This is as easy
as asking them or putting an announcement out there that you are now accepting
author interviews. Have a list of questions already prepared to eliminate the
time you spend doing this.

40.Do a cover reveal.

Use Google Docs to set up a form so
people who want to help can choose to post your new cover on their blog,
Facebook, Twitter, etc. Send them everything they need a few days before and
stress the date so no one posts too soon.

41.Guest blog and have guests on your blog. It’s
as simple as asking authors/bloggers. Don’t be afraid. The worst it gets is
they won’t respond or will say they don’t have a spot available. That’s it!

42.Join theApril Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
Don’t just share excerpts, but dig into topics related to your book that starts
with each letter. I once did a disaster theme for my Disaster Crimes Series.

43.Get Interviewed

Many bloggers interview authors.
When you’re setting up your blog tour, see if the blogger offers author
interviews and tell them you’re interested in one.

44.Do a blogfest instead of a blog tour. A
blogfest is more engaging for the people who want to participate, each post
will be unique, and you’ll be blasted on many blogs on a single day. Make sure
to ask a fun question or offer a unique prompt for the blogfest.

45.Publish more books and advertise your previous
published books in them. You can create a list such as “Other books published
by Chrys Fey:” and even share an excerpt for one.

46.Use more than one book distributor
(self-published authors) to reach more readers. Smashwords links to Barnes
& Noble, KOBO, Apple iBooks, and more. Then upload to Amazon Direct
Publishing. Not Select! Select wants you to publish exclusively with them for 3
months.

47.Turn your books into audiobooks.

48.Have a series? Put them together in a box set.

49.Look for anthology opportunities and submit a
short story for consideration. Anthologies are a great way to find new readers.

Release
Promo:

50.Set up a Thunderclap Campaign to get 100
supporters to post or tweet about your book on release day.

52.Add your books to book websites such as Manic
Reads, Book Goodies, Book Pinning, Book Buzzr, The Book Breeze, Awesome Gang,
Story Finds, and Addicted to eBooks.

53.Look for major book newsletters and email them
to see if they would like to promote your book. Make sure to include all of
your book’s info and the blurb in the email when you ask.

Writing
Community:

54.Join Yahoo Groups, websites, organizations,
writing groups, etc. When your book comes out, you can spread the news to all
of these places!

55.Cross promote with other authors. If you know
authors who have books in your genre or who are coming out with books around
the same time as you, ask them if they’d like to be part of a big promo
opportunity. Every author can share promos for everyone on their blog.

56.Ask an author to write an introduction,
forward, or testimonial for your book. This doesn’t have to be a best-selling
author but an author you know.

57.Contact a few famous authors and ask them if
they’d like to read your book and give an endorsement. The worse they can say
is “no” or not respond at all. You won’t know what’ll come out of it if you
don’t try.

58.Get on your local radio and TV shows.

Contests
and Giveaways:

59.Do a contest.

This can be big or small. I’ve
often asked fans to help me name characters.

60.Hold a giveaway. Rafflecopter lets you use
“like my FB page” and “follow me on Twitter” as things for people to do to get
points in the giveaway.

61.
Offer your readers sample chapters or short stories for free.

62.Create unique SWAG for giveaways. I’ve seen
people make pendants and charms with their cover images on it. You can do
anything related to your stories.

63.Put together a baggie with promo stuff and
deliver it to houses in nearby neighborhoods. I did this once with Ziploc bags,
a postcard, and a business card. I even alternated by including a white tea
candle (Hurricane Crimes) and a
green gemstone for weight and a little extra something.

64.Leave promo items (postcards, business cards,
etc.) and/or a copy of your book in doctor’s offices and airports. People get
bored and may become curious.

65.Donate copies of your book to women's shelter,
hospitals, etc.

Sales and
Free Books:

66.Put the first book in a series on sale whenever
a new book comes out.

67.Make a book free for a short time or forever.
You can use Smashwords to set a book as free so Amazon will (most likely) price
match it and set it as free also. You can even notify them of a price change
through the book’s page and insert retailer links as proof.

69.Add your books to discount/free sites if your
book is on sale or free. A simple Google search will help you find them.

Advertisements:

70.Pay to advertise on Facebook. Out of all the
social media ads, this one has been the most effective for me. I don’t
recommend Twitter ads.

71.Pay to advertise on book
blogs/websites/newsletters. But do your research first to see if your ad will
get lost in a slew of ads and stay in budget.

72.Advertise in newspapers and magazines.

73.Buy a $10 Goodreads ad. Create several ads
under one campaign and DON’T target specific readers, target them all. It's
more useful that way, and encourage readers to click to read the full blurb
either in the ad's title or description. If they click, they may add your
book, and clicks mean your ad is working.

74.Advertise in Publisher’s Weekly and other major
publications.

75.Put an ad on a bus bench. Yes, really.

Book
Signings, Readings, and Events:

76.Go to book fairs/festivals and set up a table.

77.Do a book signing at a local spot. Big or small.
I once did a book signing at a park with just family.

78.Record a video of yourself reading an excerpt
of your book and post it everywhere. This is perfect for people afraid of doing
a live reading.

79.Do a book reading at a local library, book store,
coffee shop, community college/school, etc.

80.Wear a badge with the cover art for your book
or with your name and “Author of XYZ.”

81.Put a review packet on your desk so interested
readers can check out the best reviews for your book.

82.Create an atmosphere with your space. Bring a
colored tablecloth, table decorations, and even props to go up behind your
table.

83.Invest in a tabletop easel with your books
cover on it to catch people’s attention or a bigger banner to stand behind your
table.

84.Put a newsletter signup sheet on your table and
ask everyone who stops to sign up.

85.Sell your book at an event for a cause and
donate part of the proceeds to that cause.

Books in
Stores:

86.If your books are stocked in local bookstores,
purchase “Local Author” stickers and ask the manager if you can put them on
your books.

87.Also ask if you can sign them. Then you can put
“Signed Copy” stickers on it!

Go to Your
Local Community:

88.Look for speaking opportunities at schools,
conventions, etc.

89.Teach a class or workshop.

90.Go on a physical book tour to local libraries,
coffee shops, and bookstores.

91.Email the directors of your local libraries and
pitch them your book to be added to their collection.

92.Pass out flyers at book stores, book events,
libraries, community events, flea markets, etc.

93.Tack a flyer on bulletin boards in libraries,
book stores, coffee shops, etc.

And herein lies to problem. There are so many things we could or should be doing that we can completely burn ourselves out. It's hard to know where to draw the line, but we must be wise in our approach.

I definitely don't mean to do all of these at once, but try a new one when you can. We sure do need to know when to draw the line. Attempting to do all of these, or even ten at once, can sure burn us out.

Those are a lot of good tips, though it'll take time to implement all of them! I know I really suck at marketing myself, but am hoping things finally start picking up after I have physical copies of my books and my first revamped cover is done. I really think my lack of physical books has been holding me back.

Certainly. Just try one when you can and then try another. No need to rush to do them all at once. I only have one book available in print. I think I only sold a couple print copies of it. Ebooks seem to be more popular. At least for the readers who purchase my work.

Wow! Thank you, Chrys! I can't read it all in one sitting and absorb it, but I'll definitely keep this! Thank you, thank you, thank you!I'm not ready to send something out there yet, but I'm reluctantly working on my author tagline. I realized, belatedly, that i'm not really an author branding rebel like I thought. I branded myself in a way I didn't expect. I write about writing and guess which books sell best? The writing books, of course. So, now I'm working on a plan to incoporate my speculative and faith writing. So far, my tag is: writer, believer, daydreamer. Not sure it works yet.